


Flight patterns fight against the weight of our world

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Adult Ezra Bridger, HoloNet, Jedi Luke Skywalker, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25061638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Luke and Ezra have heard plenty about each other. All they have to do now is meet.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger/Luke Skywalker, background Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Comments: 29
Kudos: 191
Collections: Rare Male Slash Exchange 2020





	Flight patterns fight against the weight of our world

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rivulet027](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivulet027/gifts).



"Who is this guy again?"

"He joined the Rebellion after you left," Hera said. "Excellent pilot, a little immature for his age but not much. He was the one who assassinated the Emperor aboard the second Death Star."

Ezra shook his head. 'Death Star' sounded like something he'd have read about in his floppy books starring Kay Karroway or Stark Stoneflyer. It didn't sound like a real Imperial battle station that had obliterated Alderaan and almost wiped out the main Rebellion base on Yavin 4. "He killed the Emperor?"

"It's a long story which I'd be happy to tell you some other time, but like Ahsoka said in her transmission, Luke's a Jedi. You should talk to him."

Cool discomfort moved through him. Sure, he'd met a few other Jedi. They were all dead now, according to Ahsoka, who had told him over and over she had no intention of rejoining the team, as it were. This Luke guy was one of the few people out there in the galaxy who was like Ezra now, and the only one willing to take on the name.

Ezra had been home a few weeks. The _Ghost_ felt smaller than he remembered, even though he didn't think he'd grown that much. He'd been moved into Sabine's cabin since she wasn't using it any more. His own had been converted to a different two-person living space, and that was a weird discovery he was still wrapping his head around, almost as weird as finding a green-haired seven year old in what he'd always think of as Kanan's cabin. 

Everything was weird, including Ezra himself. His friends' lives had gone on without him, and that was good, that was part of why he'd made the call, but nothing fit right, including his own identity.

"I'll talk to him eventually, I'm sure." That seemed to satisfy Hera, or she was planning to bide her time before she brought it up again. She changed the subject to the supply list they'd need at the next spaceport.

* * *

"Are you sure about this guy?"

"He was with the Rebellion before you joined up," Leia explained, not for the first time. "Ezra and his master were the only Jedi I'd ever met." Until you, she didn't say, and there were a host of other words she didn't say with them.

Leia had met Luke before he'd known much of anything about Jedi, no more than the little Ben had told him in their brief time traveling together. She'd been with him as he'd learned to use his powers on his own, and she'd seen him come back from Dagobah changed. A part of her still saw him as the boy who'd come to rescue her on the first Death Star, and didn't consider him a full Jedi the way she might someone else.

"Right, I've heard the stories. They were both on Syndulla's team. Commander Rex told me all about them." The old clone had been a fountain of stories about the old days, and the less old but still before Luke's time old days. Rex had been so happy to meet Luke, had fallen over himself to tell him how honored he'd been to serve with Luke's father during the war. He'd always made time for stories about Jedi Luke had never even heard of, who'd done amazing things before Luke's birth, or in the current war before Luke's time, and who'd long since died or vanished.

"Then what are you worried about? Ezra's a good contact to make, especially if you're the only ones walking around calling yourselves Jedi."

"There's Ben. And Rowan."

"Rowan's a kid." So was Ben. While Leia was letting Luke train her in the use of her powers, between her child and her important job in the new government, she'd never be able to dedicate her life to being a Jedi. Ahsoka had told him flat out she wasn't a Jedi any more. Several times.

"I'll talk to Ezra. You and Ahsoka both think I should, and I will, as soon as the _Ghost_ returns." That would buy him some time. General Syndulla had taken a mission and they'd be gone for weeks.

"Good." She sighed and tilted her head, listening to the monitor from Ben's room, but he was still napping. "Now why don't you walk me through that meditation again?"

* * *

"We're heading back," Hera announced over the comms.

"What?" Ezra looked up from the dejarik game he was definitely maybe not losing to Kallus. "What about the mission?"

Kallus said, "We were the backup. Team One must have come through."

"There was a Team One?" Of the many weird things about returning home, the notion that the Rebellion had not only won, but had stepped into much of the leadership in galactic politics, continued to surprise him. Back when he'd started, there had only been the six of them total, or so he'd thought, and even as they'd come together with other cells and squadrons, there had never been enough resources to send two teams on the same task.

"Hope it wasn't Solo," Zeb said, stretching. "You know how Hera gets when he wins something. Remember that race on Hoth?"

Ezra sat back, absorbing more stories from a time he wasn't there. Solo was a pilot? He was often confronted with random names he didn't know, people he never met who'd done great things in the Rebellion and died before he'd come home. He'd gone through things none of them could understand, and they'd cared deeply for people he would never meet.

"I'll go check in with Hera," he said, leaving Zeb and Kallus to their reminiscing. The cockpit door was open. The co-pilot's chair was empty. He sat down. "Hi."

"Sorry. I was hoping you'd get to see some action."

"I'm good. I've seen enough action for a long, long time." He sat back, enjoying the view as hyperspace whirled around them.

"You got a message packet while we were in subspace." Hera ejected the data disc. "I think it might be from Luke," she said encouragingly.

"Thanks." He held the disc between two fingers like he'd hold something hot or gross. "Where to now?"

"For the moment? Back to Chandrila, unless those two want to get back to Lira San." She gave Ezra an affectionate look. "They left to help look for you. I wasn't really expecting them to stay on. I like it. The ship feels more like home with everyone around."

'Home' and 'everyone' were both words with teeth. Ezra hid his wince. "I'll go open this in my cabin."

He felt Hera's eyes follow him as he left, and as he almost walked into his old cabin instead of his new one. Sabine's paintings graced the walls and ceiling of his new room, colorful reminders of the past. She promised she would come visit soon, and when she did, she'd already informed him he was getting booted into the top bunk in Jacen's cabin. He hadn't even pretended to argue, or joke. Her cabin wasn't his home. They'd returned to Lothal together, all of them, and he'd seen the monuments put up in the capital memorializing those who'd given their lives to free the planet from Imperial rule, and he'd known as much as he loved his home world, that was no longer his home, either.

With a sigh, Ezra pushed the disc into the local reader and activated the message.

A small hologram appeared, blue and wavering. It was hard to tell colors over this poor of a holo. The man in front of him might have had hair of any shade, including blue or green. His clothes were dark, somber but practical. He looked to be about Ezra's age, but that made sense. Hadn't Princess Leia turned out to be his twin, and wasn't that weird in so many ways?

"Hello, Ezra Bridger," said the recording. "I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight."

Ezra rolled his eyes and paused the recording. Part of him was annoyed by the pomposity. A smaller part of him clenched up inside. Kanan had introduced himself the same way a few times. Ezra had never felt the need, and he still wasn't sure about about having earned the title. "Who does this guy think he is?" he muttered to himself, and with annoyance, resumed the recording.

"I have heard many stories about your accomplishments and adventures," Luke said, in a stilted tone. "I believe we would have much to share with each other as we attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order. Please consider a meeting with me so we can discuss the matter further." The holo ended.

Ezra ejected the disc with a shove of his finger, then tossed it into a corner of the cabin, frowning. Still annoyed, he sat down on one of the lower seats, tapping his hand on the small table between them. Rebuild the Jedi Order? "There is no Jedi Order," he said to the empty room, scowling at the discarded disc. He wanted to go back to his game, but Kallus and Zeb would be busy talking about people he didn't know. Hera would ask him about the message. He didn't want to join Jacen and Chop in the cargo bay where they were playing Hide and Seek. Chopper was careful around the little boy but he was more than happy to electroshock Ezra when he found his hiding place. He couldn't even go back to his real cabin. It wasn't his any longer.

Ezra stayed in the room that wasn't really his room, and rested his face in his hands.

* * *

"Are you sure about the message?" Luke asked. He'd sent it an hour ago and nerves had eaten at him ever since.

"It was fine," Leia said. "Ezra had years of formal training with his master. It's better to address him with respect."

"You said you didn't have much respect for him when you met him."

"I was sixteen, and so was he, and really he should have trusted me to run the mission." Her eyes were lost in a memory for a moment. When they'd been sixteen, Luke had spent his days dreaming about leaving home to find his destiny, and Leia had still had her home, and her parents, and she'd already been doing her best to save the galaxy.

"All right. I hope it was formal enough then. I didn't bow or anything. Did the old Jedi bow?" he asked her, suddenly worried.

"I'm sure it was fine."

* * *

Hera gave him an encouraging smile as Ezra rejoined the others for dinner. "Good news?"

He shrugged. "No news. Just a hello." He immediately changed the subject, pulling up questions about some of their friends. He knew Wedge had survived the war, and Hondo. Zare and Jai had returned to Lothal, and he'd seen them briefly upon his own return. Now he asked for stories, filling in the gaps of his own life around theirs while they ate.

Listening to a description of one of Wedge's death-defying flights pushed away thoughts of restarting an order he'd never really felt a part of, at least until Zeb said, "Yeah, Wedge got the second Death Star. It was Skywalker that got the first one."

The name rattled him right back out of his pleasant mood. "What? Seriously?"

Hera nodded. "We had a few seconds to spare when he made the shot. Dodonna said he had his targeting computer off. In hindsight, it's obvious why that worked."

Kallus said, "And if it hadn't been, the way Commander Rex acted when he met him afterwards would have been a pretty damning giveaway."

"What's 'damning?'" Jacen asked through a bite of his dinner.

"Nothing important," Hera said, giving Kallus a look. "Don't talk when you chew, little buddy."

Jacen swallowed his food. "Okay."

"He blew up the Death Star and he wants to restart the Jedi Order?"

Hera made a face that Ezra couldn't read, and suspected that he didn't want to read. "Is that what he wanted to talk about?" she asked in a very calm voice.

"Yeah."

"Well, that's great," Zeb said warmly. "About time you got things moving again." He jerked his thumb at Jacen. "Someone has to show the little bogan how to use his powers."

Hera kept her eyes on Ezra, voice still deadly calm. "Did you reply?"

"Not yet." He could read that expression. "I will. Let me think about how to phrase things." He twisted his mouth. "Is he always that stuck up?"

This question was met by three blank stares and one seven year old taking advantage of the distraction to grab another piece of bread from the shared plate in the middle.

Kallus asked, "Are you sure that was Skywalker?"

"I'm sure. He introduced himself."

Zeb looked at Hera. "Is he still staying with you know who?"

She sighed. "I think he is. Ezra, Luke's currently staying with Leia and her husband to train her and help out with his nephew. I'll bet Leia told him to send a formal message to you."

"Why?"

"Because that's how she thinks. Luke's not very formal. He tries."

"It's hilarious when he tries," Kallus said.

Hera gave him another look. "Don't worry about formality. Be yourself. But please, think about sending him a reply. He'd make a good friend even if you don't have any interest in setting up a whole new Order with him."

"I will." He said it firmly enough to settle any further questions, and immediately jumped back into questions of his own.

* * *

The message arrived four days later. Luke had just finished Leia's lessons for the evening a little early, noticing how tired she was after a long day working before she'd come home to train.

"I'm fine," she insisted through a yawn.

"Ben's been fussy missing you all day," Luke replied, which wasn't a lie. "He could use some Mom Time with cuddling." And Leia could use the rest.

"I could be up for some cuddling," she admitted. "But back to lessons tomorrow?"

"Of course." He waved her off as his comm beeped with a new message. He waited until she was down the hallway, and Ben's excited squeal pierced through the closed door.

Even before he opened the receiver, he somehow knew it would be a message from the _Ghost_. A holo downloaded to his terminal. Nerves shot through him, both excitement and worry, as he pressed the play toggle.

"Hi." The holoplayer here was top level. The man who appeared at one third scale had perfect detail, from his dark hair and brilliant blue eyes, to the slight tic of his thumbs as he held his hands in front of him. Luke had only seen paintings of Ezra Bridger before, rendered in Sabine Wren's famous stylized forms. He hadn't expected him to be good-looking, even the scars on his face adding a level of maturity Luke found alarmingly distracting.

"I got your message," said the hologram. "I've been thinking about what to say. Sorry if I'm not very good at it." Luke gave him a smile. This was far from some high-minded Jedi bent on protocol. "I'm not sure about the idea of setting up a new Order. I don't know if we can even have an Order if there's just two of us. Master Obi-Wan and Master Yoda didn't seem to think so."

"I guess they didn't," Luke replied, even though he knew Ezra couldn't hear him. He wondered if Ben's spirit, or Yoda's, was listening in now. Neither had spoken to him in a while. He thought that might be why he'd been a little more lonely than usual, even living here for a few months with Leia and Han.

Ezra said, "But my master taught me that there's rarely any idea that shouldn't be considered, so I'm willing to talk about it. We're arriving at Chandrila in a few hours. I don't know where we'll be after that, but you can message me again. We'll talk."

The holo faded. Luke fought with himself, lost, and replayed it twice more. He spent the first replay watching Ezra's eyes, and the second replay watching his hands and the way his body twitched when he said certain words.

Then he sat down to think about what to say next.

* * *

Hera was taking a meeting with Mon Mothma and Ezra was cooling his heels in the cockpit when the message signal came on. He flipped the toggle, and was greeted by another hologram of Luke Skywalker. He went to pause the recording when the holo said, "Hi, General. I'm looking for Ezra. Is he available?"

Not a recording. For reasons he didn't understand, Ezra rubbed his hand through his hair, flattening some of the mess he'd woken up with an hour ago. Then he toggled on his own holoprojector. "I'm here. Hi."

Luke's expression lit up in genuine pleasure. The projector in the cockpit had a better signal. Luke was still bluish, but now Ezra could make out the details of his face, and the friendly open sparkle of his eyes. He was good-looking in a way Ezra hadn't appreciated from his first message.

"Hi!" Luke cleared his throat. "Sorry, this is strange. I've heard so much about you."

"Me? Everyone tells me you blew up a Death Star. Not that they've told me what a Death Star is, but I think I can imagine."

Luke's happy expression wilted. "That was a long time ago." Ezra recognized the tone, if not the cause behind it. Luke didn't want to talk about Death Stars, and that was fine with Ezra.

"So you're thinking about restarting the Order." He could have tried making small talk, but there was only one reason Luke had called. May as well get to the chase.

"We've already lost so much of the knowledge and wisdom that they had. I'd like to preserve and honor what we can. Look for more survivors from the old days, learn from each other and the people we do know."

"Ahsoka already turned you down."

"Yes, she did. But she said she gave you some lessons."

"Yeah." There hadn't been time for much. Almost as soon as they'd met her, she'd been off on her own missions again, only briefly checking in with them from time to time. Ezra had enjoyed the extra lessons from someone who wasn't Kanan, but he'd also worried, just a little, that if he did too well under her guidance, Kanan might get it into his head to decide Ahsoka ought to train him instead. Ezra hadn't paid as close attention as he could have, and he hadn't practiced after she'd gone off on another trip. Before he'd known it, she was lost to them and he'd regretted every wasted moment bitterly. "I can try to show you. She's a better teacher, though."

"What about lore? Do you have any books or holocrons?"

"Kanan had a holocron but I broke it." He didn't feel up to telling Luke about the Sith holocron. Those memories stung, and were tied with too much pain. He'd slipped up, let Maul know too much, and it had almost cost his friends their lives, had cost Kanan his sight for the rest of his life.

His eyes were drawn to Luke's right hand, clad in a black glove unlike his left. Hera had told Ezra plenty of stories. Maybe Luke would understand.

"There was a Jedi Temple on Lothal," Ezra said. "We broke that, too. But that was a good thing. That kept it out of the Empire's hands."

"Ahsoka said there were some outposts the Empire never found. We might have luck tracking some of those down. If you're interested in looking for them with me."

"Let me think about it. I just got home."

"I understand. I know how much your family missed you, too. The General talked about you all the time." He looked like he was going to say something else, then stopped. "We don't have to start out on a quest tomorrow, but I do think we should meet. I'm on Chandrila right now. When would you have time?"

"Let me talk to Hera. She's busy finding out what our next assignment is."

"Great," Luke said with a smile. "I'll talk to you soon."

The holo faded. The conversation had stirred some memories he hadn't taken out to examine in a while. His grief for Ahsoka had faded after he'd pulled her from her death, but when he'd finally met her again, she'd changed in ways he couldn't put his finger on. The Ahsoka he'd known was gone, replaced with someone new: more powerful. more in touch with the Force, and distant like the mountains of a faraway moon. His grief for Kanan had taken longer to digest. That pain still surprised him at odd moments with a sharp sorrow not much different from what he felt when he was suddenly reminded of his parents. All those feelings came back to him now, tied up with this stranger's visit.

Part of being a Jedi was passing on knowledge. Ezra had assumed from the day he'd met Jacen that his appointed task would be to teach him. What if it wasn't, though? What if he was meant to go with Luke to find more of what was lost, and pass it on, not just to the few children they knew, but to the many others growing up out there who didn't even know yet what the Force was?

The prospect was overwhelming. He stared at the empty place where Luke had stood.

* * *

That had gone better than Luke had feared. He'd stopped himself from saying that all the stories had made him feel as though he already knew Ezra. He did, almost. Rex hadn't been his only source of stories. When the General had been in a good mood, she told Luke about her team, and if she'd been happier to talk about the youth she believed was still alive out there somewhere instead of his fallen teacher, Luke couldn't blame her. There were names he had trouble saying except to the few people who understood. His incomplete picture of Ezra had been built with these small bricks.

Like the image he'd put together in his head of his father, the reality was different, although to his relief, not in a way that devastated him this time around. Ezra was more direct and abrupt than Luke had expected. He didn't know how much of that had been caused by what he'd faced in the Unknown Regions, and how much had always been there but had been left out of the loving reminiscences from his family and friends.

It could be that Ezra just didn't like him.

Fine. They didn't have to be best friends. Leia had said Ezra was a good contact and resource, and that was enough for him.

* * *

Luke's proposition preyed on his mind as he went about his day. Go looking for old Jedi temples? Try to rebuild what they could of the lost lore? Ezra had the itchy feeling between his shoulders that usually meant he was avoiding something he should be doing. In the old days, he got that feeling while ditching his training or his chores: one part conscience, one part precognition, all knowledge that the outcome he was dreading was the one before him, and every time he admitted that, said outcome was far less awful than he'd built up in his head.

He was going to do this.

The hatch lowered, announcing Hera's return to the ship. Ezra waited for the happy squeal from Jacen to die down before he headed her way, but he came up short as she said, "Get ready for launch. We've got our mission, and we need to go."

Ezra's mouth snapped shut, rattling his own teeth. He'd made up his mind to go with Luke, but they were leaving now. "Right."

Hera paused, concern covering her face. "Are you all right?"

"I'm great," he said, and gave her a wide grin that she greeted with a flat expression. He may have been missing for years but he wasn't fooling her for a minute. He said, "I need to send a quick message before we go."

* * *

The comm buzzed. Luke saw the origin and answered it. "Hi. I wasn't expecting to hear back from you so soon."

Ezra's holographic form stood still yet vibrated with a nervous energy. "We're headed out on another mission, and we have to leave right now."

Luke hid his disappointment. "I'm sure it's important. We can talk when you get back."

"Let's keep talking. We can make plans while I'm gone, and when I get back, we can go." His words came out too quickly, but if the _Ghost_ was ready to depart, he might only have a minute to spare.

He wanted to come along. Luke's disappointment had churned into excitement, which was even harder to hide. "That sounds great. Contact me when you can." A sudden impulse hit him. "Do you need any help on your mission? I could be there in about ten minutes."

"That's a question for Hera, and my guess is the answer is no, or she'd have arranged something already."

"Good point. I'll talk to you soon."

Ezra nodded and vanished.

* * *

They started with lightsaber practice. Ezra still had the recording Ahsoka had from her own master. Rewatching it, the last piece clicked home. No wonder Luke's last name had been familiar. Ahsoka and Rex obviously knew. The rest of the team probably knew. But had anyone mentioned to Ezra that Ahsoka's master had been Luke and Leia's dad? Of course not.

"I can play it for you," he offered.

"Ahsoka showed me. Last year, actually." His voice went tighter than usual, but Ezra wasn't surprised. Luke's father would have died during Order 66 with the rest of the Jedi. And that was another thing. Apparently Jedi weren't supposed to get married or have kids? Kanan had never mentioned that for some reason. Ezra had once believed he'd known everything about being a Jedi, but every day he found out again how little he knew.

"Then let's practice instead." He lit his lightsaber, a cool tremble moving through him as the power ignited. He'd missed this, nearly as much as he'd missed his family. Luke's hologram lit his own blade, which was difficult to see. Ezra wondered how much he'd have to do to bribe Chopper into fixing up the holoprojector in here.

"Kanan's master was a big believer in Form III. That's what I learned first because he knew that best."

"Master Obi-Wan and Master Yoda never told me the names of the forms. I had to get them from a book I found."

They walked through the steps together, Ezra talking and demonstrating, Luke following at two-thirds scale in blue. After they'd gone through it couple of times, and Luke had done so on his own, he showed Ezra the early steps he'd learned from his own teachers and Ezra followed along.

It was nice. They'd both survived duels, and had learned to improvise. Ezra had lived through two fights against Darth Vader, and the story he'd heard said Luke had defeated him. But his own first steps were soothing to revisit, and the steps Luke taught him calmed his muscles in ways Ezra hadn't expected. "I'll work on these," he said, as they were about to sign off.

"Same here. Talk tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow sounds good."

* * *

Ezra wasn't nearly as interested in the lore as Luke had been hoping. The loss of a holocron was a devastating blow, but Ezra only shrugged about it. "It had some maps, a recording of Master Obi-Wan. Maybe a few more things."

Luke couldn't express how "a few more things" didn't cover the thousands, maybe millions of files which had likely been stored in the heart of the broken device. "And there's no way to recover it?"

"I have a few of the pieces. Some were lost, and Hera's got one she's not going to give back. I, uh, have some pieces of a broken Sith holocron too."

"Way too dangerous to work with," Luke said.

"Tell me about it."

Luke almost did tell him about it until he caught the sarcasm. "You used it before?"

"Long story, short answer. Yes, and it broke at the same time the Jedi holocron broke."

That was unexpected. Luke was well aware that his picture of Ezra had been shaped by his loved ones. It was no surprise none of them had wanted to mention that he'd played with Dark Side artifacts, but Luke worried about the omission.

"What did it do?"

Ezra's expression shut down. "Nothing good. I thought it was helping me continue my studies while Kanan was injured. Guess how well that worked out."

"Listening to a Dark Side entity? Pretty badly, I'd guess."

"You guessed right. And it wound up leading Maul to Master Obi-Wan, so that was terrible, too."

"I keep hearing about Maul. He was a Sith?"

"Former, I think. The way Ahsoka is a former Jedi. Dropped the name, but you know her. She's as much of a Jedi as we are. More. Maul didn't consider himself a Sith, but he was bad news. He wanted me to be his new apprentice. He tried convincing me over and over. He even tried killing Kanan a couple of times to get me." His eyes went dark and thoughtful. "I wonder about that. What he must have seen in me to think I'd make a good ally for the Dark Side. I want to think he was wrong, but it worries me sometimes."

It was a strange confession, one Luke hadn't anticipated, and he wasn't sure Ezra knew he was speaking out loud. Maybe he did. Maybe he knew Luke would understand. Luke remembered the offer from his father. Sith were persistent when they'd found a potential apprentice.

"You said no. You turned him down."

"Of course I did!"

"Then that's what matters. You were given multiple opportunities to join him. You could have seized that power. You chose not to. You keep choosing not to, every day, even on the days when it would be easier to give in to your anger and your fear. That's what makes the difference." He took a breath. "At least, that's what I tell myself when I think about how close I came to being Darth Vader's apprentice."

Ezra's gaze came back from whatever distant place inside himself he'd been examining. "Seriously? He tried to turn you?"

"He tried. He almost succeeded. But I said no, even though it almost got me killed. That has to be what matters."

"Yeah," said Ezra. "I guess you're right."

* * *

The mission was to the far Outer Rim, a four day trip and another day of reconnaissance before they came into port. Ezra had never visited Vaynai, had never even heard of it. "Pleasure planet," was all he could get out of Kallus, with the addition that Imperial bigwigs liked to use it for recreation when they had leave. The Rebellion hadn't had 'leave,' and they certainly hadn't ever had spare money to spend somewhere if they did.

"I took a vacation once," Luke told him. "Well, not a vacation. We were working. And the Empire found us, and we got shot at, but Han won four blasters in a card game which meant we won the firefight. After that Leia said we weren't allowed to go off on our own any longer because we got ourselves into too much trouble without her but Chewie said she was jealous she missed the fun."

"The closest we had was when we were cooling our heels on Garel between missions, and Kanan and Rex both thought that was the perfect time for both of them to be training me on everything. Not much of a vacation. I got so fed up with it, I ran off and became a pirate."

"You what?"

"For about two hours. Hey, have you met Hondo?" Luke's expression said that he had, and that he hadn't enjoyed the experience. "I should look him up."

"Don't tell him I said 'hello,'" said Luke.

The meeting they were infiltrating was a humans-only event. Ezra and Kallus donned the nice clothes Hera had picked up as part of her mission briefing, not fancy but well-made. "Stay in contact," she told them. "If there's any trouble, call and we'll pull you out."

Of course there was trouble. They wound up fighting their way out of the room with a few scraps of intel and a lot of blaster bolts. Ezra had brought his lightsaber but kept it out of sight. No use announcing himself for a room full of former Imps who already planned on killing him. He did use the Force to shove three of them into the rest on their way out, but Kallus threw a fourth into the same pile, and Ezra thought perhaps the others hadn't noticed.

Back on the _Ghost_ and after a quick debriefing when they were safely back in hyperspace, Ezra returned to his cabin to change into clothes that were more him and less charred.

The comm buzzed. Hera said over the speaker: "Message from Chandrila coming through."

He activated the holo. "Hi."

"Hi. How'd the mission go?" Luke's last word trailed off as he focused on Ezra. "That's new."

"I was undercover." He looked down at the rumpled and probably ruined expensive suit. "Guess I won't be going undercover in this outfit again."

"It looks good on you."

"You say that because you can't see the burn marks."

His face dropped into concern. "Are you wounded?"

"No, the clothes got it instead of me. I think Kallus got a little crispy around the hair but he's okay, too."

"I keep forgetting he and Captain Orrelios were part of your team."

"Zeb and I used to share a room. I remember when Kallus kept trying to kill us, especially Zeb." Things were different now. Everything was different. Ezra felt so different he had trouble thinking of himself as the same kid who'd come aboard over ten years ago.

"People change," Luke said, and he had that funny look on his face he got when he was talking about something else. Ezra could tell there were secrets under his conversations with Luke, hidden truths Luke didn't intend to tell him, but instead of feeling like he was being lied to, it made him feel better. They both carried scars from the things they'd endured, from being in the Rebellion and from being who and what they were. Luke wasn't any more together than Ezra was. He could tell. And that helped.

"Speaking of, I should change. This outfit isn't really me, especially with the charring."

"Charring aside, it suits you better than you think. The cut's flattering and the color brings out your eyes."

Ezra glanced down at his clothes again. "You think so?"

Luke nodded. His holographic hand reached out to fix Ezra'a collar, but his fingers passed through. He made a face. "It's folded over."

"And scorched," Ezra reminded him, but he straightened the collar. His hand passed through where Luke's was. If he'd really been in the room, they'd have brushed fingers as Luke pulled away. But they weren't, so why did Ezra's stomach give a little jump? He said, "I've never looked for color blends in clothes. I usually stick with what fits and hope it doesn't smell."

"Spend time with Leia and you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about clothing. Alderaan had a lot of customs about clothes. Our mother was from Naboo, and they're even worse."

Alderaan was gone. Ezra still had trouble remembering that, or even understanding how a weapon could wipe out an entire world with one shot. All its customs and all its history lived on in the few survivors who could remember, and pass it on. Looking at things from that perspective, Luke had more in common with his sister than Ezra had thought.

He sat on the lower bunk, the one arranged as seating for the friends Sabine had never invited in when this was her room. His plans to change out of his suit forgotten, he said, "Tell me about the customs on Alderaan."

* * *

Luke could hear Ben playing. It was far past his bedtime, but Leia had a rare night off and wanted to spend time with him. Through the wall, he could hear Han's low voice explaining the made up rules to the latest game he and Ben had been enjoying the last few days. Part of Luke wanted to go in there and join them, but he held back. They were his family, and he loved them, and they loved him, but this was something Han and Leia were making for their own small family. Luke didn't belong in that room tonight, even though he knew how to do all the sounds even better than Han did.

"You ever feel like you don't belong in the places you used to?"

Ezra's hologram glanced around himself. He'd pulled the camera back once to show Luke all the paintings covering the walls, and Luke assumed he was looking at those now. Sabine Wren had incredible talent, even Luke's untrained eye could see that, and Ezra had taken over her old room because there was no space left for him in his own.

Ezra ended with a shrug. "All the time." His expression shifted. "You're in a weird mood. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Luke said, and instantly realized there was no point in dismissing the question, especially from this particular questioner. "I went with Leia to Central today. The New Republic government is very interested in having Jedi around, so heads up there."

"Not a surprise, is it? They like you. You did help them win the war." If he was irritated about the lack of his own chances to do the same, it didn't show in his face or his voice.

"I know. Leia gets that I don't want to get involved in all the politics, but when she's in work mode, she thinks I should. She'd like me to take an active role in public service like she has. She keeps reminding me the old Jedi were involved in the Republic's affairs."

"And it got them all killed," said Ezra.

"That's what I keep pointing out. She says it will be different this time." He sighed. Leia was the most important person in his life, and had been for years, but she could be tiring when she'd decided Luke needed to do something. "I think she forgets sometimes that the people around her aren't her committee. We're her family, and she doesn't get to decide everything for us even if she does think it's for our own good." And, to be fair, she was often right, but Luke wasn't in the mood to admit that tonight.

"Hera's got the same issue, but I never said so."

"Your secret is safe with me."

* * *

"Sometimes I wait for the rest to get back to noticing I'm some nobody from nowhere." Luke's voice was in his ear tonight. They'd turned off the holoprojectors. Ezra lay in his bunk, staring at the ceiling in the dark, and Luke sounded as though he was lying next to him, as though Ezra could reach out and wrap an arm around his shoulders.

"You are definitely not nobody. Your sister is the last Princess of Alderaan and your mother was the Queen of Naboo. That's got to make you a prince or something."

"That is not how it works," Luke said, wry amusement in his tone. "Naboo monarchs are elected, and Leia was adopted. Anyway, that's them."

"Yeah," said Ezra, rolling onto his stomach to get comfortable. "You only blew up the Death Star and defeated the Emperor. No big deal."

"You freed the first planet from Imperial tyranny and kept the galaxy from being invaded by an outside force that would have wiped out civilization."

"Other people helped!" They'd called in every last favor to free Lothal, and when it came to the Grysk, help had come from unexpected places, even Thrawn in the end. The kid he'd been when he'd met Thrawn on Ryloth all those years ago would never have believed it, but the kid who'd met Kallus on Lothal wouldn't believe he was the reason Ezra had been kicked out of his own room, either.

"People helped me, too," Luke said. "But that's not the point, is it? 'Surrounded by allies, a Jedi chooses to become the pivot point, without weapon, without hope.'"

He was quoting one of the old books he'd found. Luke liked reading them to Ezra, and Ezra found that he enjoyed listening. He knew the next line of this one: "'Because someone must.'" The words always reminded him of Kanan.

"Being the pivot point changes you," Luke said. "They don't understand. They can't."

"No." He wouldn't want them to understand. It was the last, best gift he could think of: never to let the ones you loved know what the sacrifice truly cost. Best to let them believe the only price was your life.

* * *

Luke had just finished packing when his comm buzzed. The pleased excitement that rushed through him every time was tempered with sudden dismay. "Hi," he said to the hologram, and couldn't match the smile Ezra flashed his way.

"Hi! We're about two hours out. Where do you want to meet?"

"I can't."

"What?"

"Leia has to go to a conference on Muunilinst. Last minute assignment. Normally Han would escort her, but he and Chewbacca may or may not be wanted on various charges in that sector."

Luke didn't blame Chewie for whatever trouble Han was in. Chewbacca had chosen to throw his lot in with every one of Han's terrible plans, no matter where or what or why, seeing it as his purpose in life to drag Han back out alive when the plan inevitably went wrong.

He sighed. He loved his brother-in-law, and he knew Han loved him just as much. They'd risked their lives for each other over and over, and there was no one he wanted to be a member of his family more. Han made Leia happy even when he was driving her bonkers, and he doted on Ben, and Luke was happy to be staying with them here, would be happy to linger for months or years in their home. "Han is one of my favorite people in the galaxy. You know that." 

"You've said."

"One of these days Han's going to live up to being the man Leia and I are sure he can be, deep down. But some days, it feels like there's a lot of digging left to get there."

"Worth the excavation though, right?" Something in Ezra's expression told Luke he was thinking about someone else, although Luke couldn't imagine who.

"Right. We'll be back in a week or so."

"We'll probably be off again. Mon Mothma likes keeping Hera busy."

Luke didn't ask why Ezra felt compelled to join the General when she went about her tasks. One glance at his own traveling case was enough of an answer. He'd probably see General Syndulla again before he ever even met Ezra.

A thought came to him, bringing a smile to his face.

"What's that about?" Ezra asked, watching him from far away.

"Nothing." He turned to the hologram. "Call it a surprise. I'll talk to you soon."

* * *

Hera returned to the ship with a bundle under one arm. Jacen greeted her curiously, but she shrugged and passed it to Ezra. "This is for you. Luke left it at Central for me with a note to ask me to pass it along."

"What is it?"

"I have no idea. Some Jedi artifact, maybe. He collects those when he can find them." 

Ezra hefted the small package. It could be a book, he supposed. The package was too thin to be a holocron. Hera had already turned away to deal with her child. He left them there and went back to his room.

"This better not be homework," Ezra muttered to himself as he unwrapped the parcel. Under the thin flimsi was a box. He edged the seal open with his fingernails. It wasn't a book or a holocron. A dozen small, dark items were packed into the box with tissue. A scent wafted up, unfamiliar but inviting.

He plugged in Luke's comm channel. He didn't get a reply and didn't expect one, but now he'd have left a glowing reminder for when Luke wasn't busy piloting the ship he and Leia were taking.

Ezra set the box to one side. It smelled really good, but he wondered.

* * *

Once they were in hyperspace, Luke replied to the message. The holoprojector was shot on this thing, leaving him with voice only. "Hi."

"Hi. Weird question. Is this some sort of Jedi artifact I don't know about?"

Luke burst into a laugh. "No. At least, I hope not. I eat these all the time. Try one."

"What is it?"

"Just try it."

He waited, wishing he could see the expression on Ezra's face. Maybe he should have waited until he got back and they could meet in person. "Wow," Ezra said after a moment, his voice somewhat muffled.

"The filling is kolinafruit paste. I thought you might like to try some. These were really popular on Alderaan, or so Leia tells me. After I ate my first one, I wished we'd been switched. Don't tell her."

"I promise," Ezra said, and Luke heard the rustle of the tissue as he grabbed a second sweet, popping it into his mouth with a soft moan that made Luke blush with an unexpected warmth. He'd had dreams on a few nights now and then about biting into one of these and ending the bite with a kiss.

That memory didn't help with the blush at all.

"Thanks," said Ezra, his mouth still full and sounding completely blissed out. He'd talked a little about his time out in the Unknown Regions, and a lot more about growing up on Lothal's streets. There'd been too many times he hadn't been able to find a meal at all, much less some sweet delicacy like these morsels.

Luke wished he could see Ezra's face, but he was glad he hadn't waited even a day longer.

* * *

"What did you want to be? You know, if you weren't doing this?"

The holoprojector from the borrowed suite where Luke was staying had a flicker problem. Ezra was getting a headache from watching him, and closed his eyes, waiting for the answer.

"I was going to be a pilot," Luke said. "I've always been good at flying, even back home in my T-16. All I wanted to do was get into the sky. What about you?"

"If Kanan hadn't brought me aboard to train me, I'd have stayed a pickpocket until I was old enough to work in the Imperial factory." His eyes still closed, he tried to picture that life, as he had dozens of times before. "I tried to be a bounty hunter once. That didn't work at all."

"You'd make a terrible bounty hunter."

"Hey, I'd have made a great bounty hunter!"

"No, you care too much. You'd wind up collecting your targets and adopting them instead of turning them over."

"That's not.... Okay, maybe." He opened his eyes to see Luke's smile. He had a great smile, and a wicked sense of humor Ezra was learning to enjoy. "But only the nice ones."

"I can see it now," said Luke, though what he saw, he never shared. Ezra heard a loud explosion from behind Luke. Luke spun, face drawn in shock. 

Instinctively, Ezra reached out to grab him and pull him to safety. His fingers passed through thin air as the hologram vanished.

Ezra darted from his room to Jacen's room, where Hera was reading him a story. "Hera!"

"What's wrong?" she asked, dropping the datapad and positioning herself between Jacen and the door.

"I think Luke and his sister were just attacked."

"Where?" She stood, shushing Jacen back into bed. "Stay here, sweetheart."

"I want to see."

"You need to see the insides of your eyelids. Go to sleep. Everything will be fine."

Everything didn't feel fine. Worry burned in his stomach at every second of delay as Hera settled her son before joining him in the corridor. "They're on Muunilinst."

"That's two days away at top speed."

"They need our help!"

"They need someone's help," she corrected him as she headed into the cockpit. She opened a channel to the main station on the planet. "This is General Syndulla. Urgent message to Naval Command. Suspected attack on Muunilinst. Senator Organa and her brother need help. Send closest vessel to render aid. Command code besh six niner osk." She waited for the confirmation signal, then closed the channel.

"When are we going?" asked Ezra.

"When we have orders."

"They need our help!" he said again. Hadn't she heard him?

"No," Hera said, with a patience that sounded a little stretched. "We can't get there to render aid in time, Ezra. We are too far away. They'll dispatch a ship in the sector. They might even have one already in orbit. Leia and Luke will have backup as soon as the ship arrives." She saw his face. "Unless you want them to wait two days."

He relented at last. "No. Sooner is better."

Her expression softened. "You don't know this, but Luke is incredibly resourceful, and so is Leia. They've been in bad situations before. They're astoundingly good at getting out of them, usually together, or with," she made an annoyed face, "Leia's husband." She placed a hand on Ezra's arm. "They're going to be fine. I'm sure of it."

He let himself relax. She was right. Distracting himself from the worry, and from why he was so worried, he asked, "What is it with you and Solo?" He was Luke's best friend, and he'd been a General in the Rebellion. Ezra thought he should like the guy on Luke's behalf and despise him on Hera's. "Why don't you like him?"

"Han? I like him fine."

"Everyone says you hate his guts."

"Everyone is wrong. Han and I get along well enough. We just have a little too much in common."

"And that's bad?"

"How did you feel about Mart when you first met him?"

Ezra flashed back to that day. "He was a pain. I thought he was full of himself and that he was going to get the rest of us killed. And I didn't like the fact that he reminded me of the person I could have been if I hadn't joined up with you and Kanan and the rest of our team."

"The hardest person to deal with is the one who reminds you of your own worst traits. Han's not my favorite mirror to look into, and I know the feeling is mutual. We don't hate each other at all. We're friends, though the rest of the people we know in common don't believe that. We just have trouble being in a room together without bringing out each other's inner bogsnipe." Ezra broke out in a short laugh. Hera didn't swear very often, and it was always funny. She said, "I was worried you and Luke might not get along for the same reason."

"What do you mean? Luke's great. I mean, yeah, we have a lot in common, but that's good. He doesn't remind me of anything bad." The opposite, really, he thought. Talking with Luke was like talking with the best parts of himself. And now he was out there somewhere in trouble, and Ezra couldn't do anything about it except wait. "I hope he's all right."

Hera fixed him with a kind, speculative look. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

* * *

It could have been worse, Luke thought, groggy from the pain meds in his system. Leia had gotten out unharmed. Only one of their hosts had been killed. He turned his head and saw the ruined electronics of his hand. That could and would be fixed soon enough. Just another day.

"Hi," said Leia, coming into view. Her eyes slipped to his hand and back to his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better after the last injection," he said, feeling a dopey smile cross his face. "You're sure you weren't hurt?"

"Not a scratch." She kissed his forehead. "In case I haven't mentioned this a dozen times already, thanks for coming here with me."

"Any time. Next time let's bring more backup with us, though." He gave a small grunt as he shifted to sit up. "I'm happy that squadron showed up but let's not count on coincidence every time we need an extraction."

"What coincidence? General Syndulla sent in the squadron. Apparently she got word you and I were in trouble." Leia's mouth twisted into that look when she was trying not to smile, and failing.

His mind drifted. "I was talking to Ezra when the door blew in."

"I know. He's commed me five times in the last hour asking how you are. I think he's worried about you."

He was warm from the meds. That was why his face felt hot, he was sure. "Tell him I'm fine."

"I did. Five times. He's not going to believe me until he sees for himself, so expect a call as soon as you're up and moving again."

Luke snorted half a laugh and rested his head. "I look forward to telling him," he tried to say in a mock haughty tone that he suspected came out with a tired slur.

She gave him a soft look, full of affection and something he couldn't read in her eyes or even through the gentle empathy they shared between them. "Ezra's a good person. I'm glad you like him."

"I do," he said, and fell asleep between that and the next breath.

The call did come as soon as he was out of medical and back on his feet. Ezra radiated a nervous energy that relaxed only slightly as he saw Luke. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." He showed his hand and wiggled his fingers. "They even gave me a newer model than the one I had."

"Good. I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks for sending the squadron. We needed the help."

"Any time." The last of the tension eased out of him. "This is getting ridiculous. We should meet for real."

"Love to. We're heading back home in a few hours." He watched Ezra's face fall. "And you're heading out again."

"Hera has been asked to go to Coruscant for You Know What Day."

Luke said, "I could meet you on Coruscant." His mind raced. "Meet you there in five days?"

"Can you be there in three?"

He thought about it. "I could make it in four."

"Four days," Ezra agreed. "Local noon, in front of the old Jedi Temple. Seems like a good place to meet."

It seemed like a morbid place to meet, but Luke wasn't going to argue. "I'll be there."

* * *

Nerves plucked at Ezra's surety as soon as the call ended. He wanted to meet Luke in person. But maybe it wasn't a good idea. What if Luke met him face to face and decided Ezra really wasn't more than some lothrat who knew a couple of tricks? What if he was picturing Ezra as some hero of the early Rebellion, and was disappointed in meeting the well-meaning loser Ezra often suspected he was? What if he didn't like him?

Ezra wanted Luke to like him.

Four days. He couldn't do anything about picking up another, better set of clothes between now and then, and the one nice suit he'd ever worn had been given back to be repaired or discarded. He'd have to make do with a shower and a shave, and make sure his one set of clothes was clean.

* * *

They returned to Chandrila first. Leia needed to get back to work, and Luke's X-wing was there. He went through the wardrobe in the borrowed room Leia and Han had given him, but there was no point. He had his flight suit and two changes of clothes: black and black. Luke caught his own reflection in his mirror, frowning at the scars on his face. Another couple of weeks in bacta might have cleared those up after the Wampa attack. He hadn't cared before, but now his eyes were drawn to the marks. He couldn't do anything about those. Maybe a quick haircut before he went would help.

He passed Leia's room as he walked down the hallway. The door was ajar, and she was talking to someone. Not a secret meeting, or she'd have been more careful. Luke went to keep moving when he recognized the voice.

General Syndulla said, "You know my opinion. I think it would be good for both of them."

"Agreed," Leia said. "I'm concerned about their maturity level." Syndulla let out a soft chuckle. Leia said, "But you're right. We'll get the boys together and we'll have to encourage them when they get it wrong."

A hot flush hit his cheeks and Luke forced his feet to keep moving. A good contact, Leia had said. You should talk to him she'd told him. She hadn't been wrong, he admitted as he reached the living area of the home, his face fully on fire by this point, but he didn't like the idea of his life getting organized by his sister and his former commanding officer.

Outside, Han was playing with Ben on the lush orange grass that surrounded their pretty home, his own life sorted out by the woman in the next room.

There was another comm system in the living area. Luke sent a quick text-only message to the _Ghost_ : "Sorry, plans changed. Can't make it to Coruscant."

When the comm in his room beeped later, he ignored it.

* * *

Luke didn't return his calls. Ezra worried and tried not to worry. They had their mission to Coruscant. Maybe after that, he'd stay on Chandrila, showing up at Leia's house with a backpack and a smile.

"We're not going back to Chandrila," Hera announced at dinner the next day. "After our work on Coruscant is complete, I've been asked to take command of a small battalion stationed in the Lectis System. I'll be there for at least four months."

"Months?" Ezra asked, aghast. Zeb and Kallus didn't look surprised. "This has happened before."

"A few times," Zeb said. "Hera was always getting moved to new postings during the war. Sometimes we all went with her."

Kallus sat back and fixed Jacen with a stare. "Sometimes we stayed where we were and babysat."

"And you were excellent babysitters," Hera said fondly. "I'm mentioning this now in case anyone wants to be dropped off before I take up my post."

Zeb and Kallus exchanged a look. Zeb said, "Yeah, we've been meaning to bring that up."

"Do you want to contact Sabine before you go?" Hera asked.

"I already told her we'd probably go back after Ezra settled in," said Zeb. He bumped Ezra's arm. "You can have the cabin back."

"Thanks." The unhappy sensation in his head that had been growing since receiving Luke's terse message grew. "You're really going back to Lira San?"

"We built a home there," Kallus said. "It's a beautiful planet to settle."

"And one of these days, you'll even learn the language," Zeb teased.

Ezra excused himself while they bickered over whose pronunciations were better. Apparently the dialect spoken on Lira San wasn't the one Zeb knew from Lasan, and they were learning together. Ezra wondered if his own dialect was poor, if he'd said something to offend Luke without realizing it. He tried placing another call, which went unanswered.

They'd be on Coruscant tomorrow, the day before Ezra's birthday. Hera was a decorated war hero who'd helped end the Empire's reign, and she would be spending Remembrance Day hobnobbing with the other military leaders. There would be more activities on Chandrila for the political side of the Alliance. Leia would be attending there, and Ezra supposed Luke had been asked to attend given his own role in winning the war. Asking him to come to Coruscant had been a bad idea. Maybe he'd been offended that Ezra was implying he was a military grunt or something. But Luke had suggested meeting him there.

The door buzzed. "Come in." Hera stood in the doorway. As always, her eyes were drawn momentarily to the splash of colors surrounding them, and as always, her mouth quirked into a nostalgic smile.

"I'm working on the navigation for the trip to Lira San. Did you want me to drop you at Chandrila along the way?"

"No. Thanks, though."

"If you change your mind, let me know. I can reroute after we drop off Zeb and Alexsandr before I show up at Lectis Prime."

He shook his head. "I'll let you know, but I doubt it."

"I thought you were trying to meet up with Luke."

"We were. He was going to meet us on Coruscant, then he sent a message that he couldn't make it. He hasn't received my calls since. Do you think he's all right?"

"I'm sure he's very busy. I've been talking with Leia and she'd have mentioned if he was in trouble." Hera made a resigned face. "I was hoping we'd have a reason to go, to be honest. She and I have been trying to find a time to get Ben and Jacen together to play, and now I'm away for another four months."

"I thought Ben was really little?" Luke talked about his nephew all the time. He adored every burp the kid made.

"He is, but we think it would be good for them both to grow up with a friend who has the same powers. They might feel a little less lonely."

"Is that why you tried to get me to talk to Luke?"

She shrugged. "Not exactly. I think he's a good contact for you, and you're happier when you're around other Jedi." She didn't say Kanan's name but she didn't have to. "You seemed to be happy talking with him. You've been on holocalls almost constantly for the last month."

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to tie up the comms."

"You didn't. Chopper installed extra splitters two years ago. And even if you did, I wouldn't mind. As I said, you seem happy. It's been a long time since I saw that." 

Without meaning to, he smiled. "Guess I am. I really like him." He read the understanding in Hera's eyes. "I hope you're right and he's just busy."

"I'm sure he'll contact you soon. And Ezra? I'm glad for you."

That hope lasted until his comm lit up an hour later. Another text-only message from Chandrila.

"I have a lot on my platter right now. We should pick up this conversation again in a few months."

* * *

Luke was bored. Somehow in the last month, he'd come to associate spending his free time with calling Ezra. Now he found himself with time on his hands he couldn't remember how to fill. Han had taken Ben to visit a new children's play center for the day. Leia was occupied with the setup for the Remembrance Day functions tomorrow. Their birthday was two days after, though they rarely celebrated. Too many bad memories, and those were all entwined with the truths they'd uncovered about their birth.

The droids could use tune-ups, he decided, and busied himself digging into Artoo, carefully removing, cleaning, and replacing some of his aging circuits. Threepio appreciated the attention more, happily telling Luke all about the minutia of his own day.

Chewie lived a few miles away. Luke took himself for a walk to go visit, enjoying the presence of his old friend as much as he enjoyed the interesting details of how Chewbacca had decorated his own home full of poles and ropes to climb or lounge in. Chewie mentioned he and Han were planning a trip to Bebarra soon if Luke wanted to join them.

"I'll think about it."

Back at the house, Luke found himself with time on his hands. Meditation escaped him. He knew much of that had to do with his irritation at Leia. He loved her, and she was his best friend, and being furious with her at interfering in his personal life wasn't healthy for either of them. He needed to let that go, but every time he thought about contacting Ezra, hot shame and anger struck him over and over, and those were emotions he couldn't afford to entertain.

Han brought Ben back from their outing as afternoon lengthened. Luke scooped up the little boy into his arms. "How's my favorite nephew?" he asked, enjoying Ben's high giggles.

"He better be your favorite," Han said. "He's the only one you're getting." He went through the storage cabinets to look for the makings of their dinner.

"You and Leia should have five or six kids," Luke said, bringing Ben into the kitchen just to see the look of horror cross Han's face.

He paused in his preparations to ruffle Ben's hair. "One kid with the Force is more than enough."

"Kids with the Force can be fine. Leia and I didn't come into our powers until we were adults."

"Yeah, well Ben's been flinging toys against the wall since he was a week old. And you remember how much mayhem Syndulla's kid got into when he was little." He made a face. "Leia's trying to arrange a time with her to let the boys play together. She thinks it will be 'good for them,'" he said, making quotes in the air with his fingers. "I think introducing Ben to that little green-haired reprobate will be nothing but trouble."

"Jacen's fine. You just don't want to have to spend more time in a room with the General." Something about what Han had said pinged in his head. "Leia wants to get the boys together?"

"Yeah. She and Syndulla have been trying to make a plan for weeks." Han gave him a look. "I figured you'd be involved."

"No, Leia never mentioned."

"That guy you're spending all your time talking to on the _Ghost_ didn't mention either?" There was a hint of reproach in Han's voice. "Too much time" was what he'd wanted to say, and Luke knew it.

"We were talking about other things." The expression on Han's face was clear as day, and Luke felt a mild flush coming back to his cheeks. It wasn't as though Han was wrong. Luke was the one who'd been wrong. He cleared his throat. "Leia and the General want to have the boys play because it would be good for them."

"I don't think so, but nobody asked me."

"No," said Luke, not really listening. "Their maturity level may not ready."

"That's what Leia said."

Luke snapped back into the present and looked at Han. "Have you ever done something really stupid you regret?"

"Once or twice an hour. What have you done now?"

He thought fast. His X-wing couldn't make it to Coruscant in a day. "I need to ask a really, really big favor from you."

* * *

Remembrance Day was a little better for a birthday than Empire Day had been. The people celebrating were people Ezra liked, and the celebrations weren't forced parties as much as they were somber recollections of those who'd lost their lives under the Empire. There were speeches, and these were uniformly boring, even the one Hera gave. He tried to pay attention, and clapped when he should. Strangers came up to him, pleased to see the return of a Jedi so many years after their loss on this dreadful anniversary.

"Do you know Luke Skywalker?" he was asked, over and over.

"We've talked," he replied, and changed the subject every time.

After, those gathered lit sparkleflames to set aloft in memory of lost friends and loved ones. Some said the names out loud, most whispered names Ezra had never known. Hera helped Jacen send up a light to remember the father he'd never met. Zeb and Kallus only set one aloft, but they lit it together, and Ezra was sure he saw Kallus mouth the word "Lasan" as they let go. He thought about his own parents as the hot, flickering light left his hands.

It was sad, but a good sad, he thought, watching the night fill with these sparkling false stars that floated high above them, waiting to wink out one by one.

The others headed back to the ship once the ceremonies were complete. Ezra had never been to Coruscant and went for a walk instead, trying and failing not to gawk at the enormous city. He considered himself well-traveled, given his history, and he was far from the naive boy who'd never left Lothal before meeting the team. Coruscant was something else: huge and glittering and unimpressed with his past or his future. Coruscant had seen the paths of Jedi long before him, and it had stood quiet as they'd fallen here the day Ezra had been born.

He found the Jedi Temple. The Empire had burned large swathes the day it had fallen, then later moved in to defile the halls further. After the war, it stood empty, a monument to those who'd been killed here and across the galaxy, staid and dark and permanent even as the sparkleflames had been beautiful and fleeting.

Others had been here. Some had left blossoms, ribbons. Most had left pieces of flimsi. Ezra read one: _Please cure my husband's illness._ Another: _please bring back my mom!_ Wishes left for ghosts in the memory of great wizards who'd once filled the galaxy with magic before passing into the darkness.

All the Jedi were gone. They'd been murdered on this day, and the brief days following. The few survivors had not outlived the war to restore the Republic. Ahsoka refused the path. The only ones left now were Ezra and Luke, and Luke had stopped speaking to him. Maybe he was better off setting down this role the way Ahsoka had, and spending his life as part of Hera's crew. She could use the help with Zeb and Kallus gone, and he didn't need to be a Jedi to man the nosegun. The kids could pick up the burden one day, years from now. Maybe they'd be better at building a new Order.

Ezra stared at the empty building until his vision blurred. He was used to feeling alone on his birthday. Above him, the last of the sparkleflames sputtered and faded.

* * *

He was late. The _Falcon_ might be one of the fastest ships in the galaxy, but not fast enough for Luke's needs now. He was being stupid again, he told himself. He could just send a comm to the _Ghost_ , explain himself, and hope Ezra wasn't mad at him. They could try to rebuild the friendship they'd put together over this long distance apart, and the other thing Luke accepted they'd been building at the same time from much of the same pieces.

He should call, but they'd agreed to meet here, on this day, and if nothing else, Luke would make the call from in front of the Temple. He would show Ezra he'd come, and apologize for being a bantha's ass.

The problem with arriving the day after Remembrance Day was how many other ships were already in dock all over the part of the city he intended to visit, and how many people he knew still milled around after the ceremony. He'd missed the ceremony on Chandrila, and Leia would be irritated with him for that, and he'd missed the one here, and for what? He was stopped in the streets as he tried to make his way to the Temple, over and over, by people who recognized him, and greeted him as an old friend or as a familiar hero.

"Thanks," Luke said, "but I have an appointment I'm late for."

They'd said four days, and a quick message to Leia explained why Ezra couldn't stay for a fifth: General Syndulla had been assigned to the Lectis System, and would be leaving to start her new posting. Luke could follow Ezra to Lectis, but that might be too much after having told him to go away.

"Luke Skywalker!" said another voice, and Luke smiled politely. He had somewhere important to be.

At last, his path brought him to the old square, and the ruins of the Jedi Temple, surrounded today by gifts of flowers. The new government had asked him what to do with the building once they'd liberated Coruscant. Luke had no idea. He'd walked the silent halls for the first time a few years ago, and felt the oppression of the evil deeds the stones had seen. He'd wondered if the spirits of the dead would have haunted the place where they died the way Obi-Wan's spirit haunted him sometimes. He'd spotted no figures in the familiar sparkling blue form, but he'd felt the accusations in his soul, and the bitter recrimination. The massacre of the Jedi Temple had been the first known slaughter committed by Darth Vader. How did Vader's son dare be the one who chose what to do with these floors and walls that had been sanctified by so much blood?

Ezra wasn't there. Of course he wasn't. Luke was late, and Ezra wouldn't have thought he was coming.

This close to the temple, the Force echoed with the cries of the fallen. Luke's senses felt askew, tense, and achy, none of which helped with his worry that this had been his chance and he'd blown it.

He had brought a holocam. He would record a message and send it to Ezra, and hope for the best. If he was lucky, the _Ghost_ hadn't left port yet.

He flicked on the switch. "Hi," he said to the camera's eye, standing in front of the Temple. "I wanted to say...."

"You're Luke Skywalker," said a voice.

With a sigh, Luke turned off the holocam. "Yes." He didn't remember the name but he recognized the face from an early posting with the Rebellion. They chatted briefly, Luke aware of time slipping away. "I'm in the middle of something, right now. Sorry."

"Right. Tell Leia I said hello."

"I will, thanks. Good seeing you." He turned on the holocam again, overwriting the first attempt at a message. "Hi. I made it." He showed the Temple in the hologram. "I wanted to...."

"Luke Skywalker?"

Another old friend. Daylight was rapidly dying. Luke guessed it didn't matter. He turned off his holocam. "Hi."

"I didn't see you at Remembrance Day."

Night fell, and Luke was on his fourth attempt at a recording. He thought about stepping inside, but if he'd been reticent to go in during the day, the thought of standing in those halls in the darkness with the dead and his own inherited guilt was beyond him. If his father's ghost appeared to him inside there, he might go mad. And what would he say? That he'd come not to respect the dead like everyone else here had done, but to meet up with a man he suspected he might be in love with despite never having met?

He thumbed on the camera. He looked at the camera eye, knowing his hologram would be looking straight at Ezra. He had been struggling with this message but there was only one thing to tell him.

"Hi, Ezra."

"Hi, Luke."

Luke bit back a groan and flicked off the camera as he turned and came face to face with brilliant blue eyes. He stared. "Um. Hi."

"Yeah," Ezra said, with a smirk. "We got through that part. You made it after all." His mouth twitched. "I really, really hoped you'd come."

"I did. I wanted to. I'm so sorry. I was an idiot," he said, all in one breath. "I thought you already left." His heart suddenly dropped. "You did, didn't you? This is another hologram."

Ezra's eyes dropped, taking Luke in with a longer look. Then he raised his right hand, holding it palm out towards Luke. Luke stared at him in confusion for a moment, then understood. He held out his own hand, the left, and pressed their fingers together. Shock ran through him, not unfamiliar or unexpected. This same striking warmth had passed through his body and mind when he'd met Obi-Wan and Leia and the few others like them. He hadn't understood then. He'd thought the strange feeling meant something it hadn't. Now he knew the sensation of being near someone else with the Force. The flutterbies in his stomach had nothing to do with that, and everything to do with the smile growing over Ezra's face.

"Hera left an hour ago. I decided I didn't belong on the ship when she did."

"That's fine," Luke said. "Han let me borrow the _Falcon_ to get here. You can ride back with me." Luke noticed they were still touching and neither was pulling away. He found he didn't mind at all.

"I am not telling Hera I rode in that ship. Ever."

"I won't tell if you won't."

Ezra laughed, and he had a warm, kind laugh. "Hey," he said in a casual voice. "Do you want to get dinner? We can talk." His eyes held a hint of hope. "About a lot of things."

"Dinner sounds great."

Luke knew a place close by, and Ezra agreed to it readily. They left the Temple behind, and its ghosts and its hopes, and walked hand in hand together into the surrounding streets, talking about nothing and everything, during dinner and afterwards, until the early hours of dawn.


End file.
